Around 30 imprisoned members of Syria's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, a religio-political organization active in north Africa and the Middle East, have been released, the organization’s leader, Ali Sadreddine al-Bayayouni, told AFP Thursday.

He said that, according to information directly from Damascus, the militants had been released Wednesday.

There was no details as to their identities or the circumstances of their liberation, Bayayouni added, speaking by telephone from his London residence.

The Paris office of Syria's main human rights organization, the Committee for the Defense of Democratic and Human Rights in Syria (CDF), said earlier Thursday that "dozens of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were released Wednesday" from prison in Syria.

The spokesman, Ghayath Naisse, said there were "members of the Muslim Brotherhood and various left-wing parties" among them, but added that he did not know the exact number of prisoners released nor their identities.

According to the CDF, there were around 1,500 people held for their beliefs in Syria before this round of releases, compared to 14,000 ten years ago.

The amnesty comes two weeks after Bashar Assad was elected president to succeed his late father, Hafez, who died on June 10th -- LONDON (AFP)